Chapter Text
Minho wasn’t expecting to find an injured hybrid next to his trash that lovely summer night, but he did. Life really is unexpected. Minho had just gone to throw out some bags full of trash, literally threw them to the garbage cans, and stopped in his tracks going back inside when he heard a small whine.
He walked rapidly near the garbage cans to see where the noise had come from when he saw him. A hybrid scrunched between one garbage can and the other. They were standing very still as not to attract any attention to themselves, but Minho was now kneeled on the ground next to them. Still, even though the hybrid now looked very tense, it didn’t move and just kept his line of sight anywhere but on Minho. That close, Minho could see him better.
Blonde hair, brown roots showing. Perky golden ears and torn clothes. He had one scratch below his eye, and Minho realized the pretty and full cheeks of the hybrid; the rest of his body was covered in bruises and cuts as far as Minho could see, as if he had gotten into a fight and the other person had tried very hard not to hurt them in their face until their last resort. The hybrid was clutching their tail close to their chests with both their hands. They seemed frightened and helpless. Minho had seen that look in one too many hybrids.
“Hey” he said, mustering the calmest voice he could. He wanted to project confidence and look trust-worthy. “Are you alright?” Minho shut his mouth, stupid question with an obvious answer. He waited a second, and moved an inch closer to the hybrid. The hybrids flinched, holding his tail closer to his body, but at least he was looking directly at Minho now. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Minho.” Minho placed a hand to his chest when he introduced his name. “What’s your name?”
The hybrid was looking at Minho, from his hands to his head. Minho was a human, and if an hybrid that looked like they had just escaped from problems didn’t trust him, he wasn’t going to be offended. The hybrid tensed their jaw for what seemed ages for Minho before speaking with a raspy voice.
“Baby”
Minho tried not to let his happiness show when the hybrid spoke to him, and he was so optimistic that the name of the hybrid and it’s oddness didn’t click to him at the beginning. “Baby? Your name is “B-A-B-Y” Baby?”. The hybrid wasn’t probably in their best headspace to listen to spelling, but Minho didn’t really expect an answer, he knew what he heard. “Okay, Baby. Do you need help? Do you want help?” Minho corrected his questions. He tried to give the hybrid as much space as he could. The hybrid, whose type Minho couldn’t decipher, looked at him with big brown eyes. Minho’s breath was taken away as if someone had punched his lungs. The hybrid had just taken his heart. They nodded, and Minho smiled gently. He was so very happy to be able to help those in need, but he didn’t want to come off as weird or suspicious.
“This is my house” Minho said, pointing at the house just at the back of them. “Do you wanna come in?” Jisung breathed deeply, and nodded. He came out of his hiding spot and stood up rather quickly, almost falling if it hadn’t been for Minho and his quick reflects. Holding the hybrid close, Minho’s nose was hit with their scent, which was, well, weird. Humans couldn’t smell hybrid’s scents. But maybe it was just perfume? And if it was, it wasn’t like any other perfume Minho had ever smelt before. Who would’ve expected a dirty hybrid with covered in dried blood would smell so good? Minho shook his head, the hybrid was becoming heaver in his hold, as if they were losing strength.
“Come on” Minho said, putting one of the hybrids arms around his neck and holding the hybrid’s waist with his arm, very carefully. He didn’t know about any hidden bruises.
He walked to the door, and whispered to the hybrid, “Baby, my pack is going to be inside. There’s two alphas, one omega, one beta, and two other humans. Will you be okay? Do you need a moment?” The hybrid had an alert look on his face, but if he didn’t react to a human calling his family a pack, or to his pack consisting of hybrids and humans, then Minho was right to suspect that the hybrid was really out of it. The hybrid nodded. And Minho opened the door.
“What took you so damn long?” asked one buff guy, a tiger hybrid, from his seat on the couch as soon as he heard the door open and close. “Did you walk to the end of the street to throw out the trash? The trash cans are like five meters away…”
The tiger’s words died in his mouth when he spotted Minho with a hybrid latched to his side. A very damaged hybrid. “Um, who is that?” he asked, perplexed. A cute cat hybrid boy stood up almost immediately after looking at Minho and their new guest. “Oh my! I’m gonna get Chan”. The freckled hybrid ran, probably to the kitchen to get whoever he needed, and Minho walked the hybrid to the sofa, very carefully sitting them down. “Baby, this is Changbin” The hybrid turned to look at the tiger hybrid, obviously scared, and threw his upper body to Minho kneeling in front of him to hug him with his hands around his neck, and hiding his face in the human’s neck. Curling his tail around both their bodies for good measure.
Changbin looked at the scene disoriented, but once the smell of distressed omega hit his nose, he was on his feet next to Minho in a second. “ ”Baby?” Who is this? What is going on?!” he asked distressed, causing the hybrid to hold Minho tighter, making the human cough. “Um, yeah. Maybe not scare them more, yeah? They are kinda choking me” Minho said exasperated, forcing Changbin to calm down. Footsteps approached hurriedly, and more people entered the living room. A wolf hybrid was chasing the cat hybrid, followed by two humans and one dog hybrid.
“Minho? What happened?” asked the wolf hybrid, smelling the omega-distress scent all the way from the kitchen. It was filling up the whole house probably. “Chan” Minho started, petting the hybrid on his arms to lure him into releasing him. Chan realized Minho wasn’t talking to him but to the strange hybrid that had a hold on him. “This is Chan…” Minho said, almost out of breath because of the death grip on his neck, “He is my pack alpha- won’t you say hi to him?” The hybrids ears twitched, and he, after some seconds, reluctantly separated himself from the human, choosing to hold onto his shirt instead. That was the first time the hybrid looked at them with his doe eyes. The same feeling reviving in the other seven males that they had felt when they first saw each other. But maybe better. Maybe stronger.
It lasted only a second.
“Chan” Minho said, standing up, making the hybrids’ arms go up comically with the way he was fisting the other’s shirt “This is Baby, I… I found him in the trash”. Chan’s ears perked at that, and his eyes and mouth opened astonished, “Are you serious?” asked Chan, moving to stand in front of the hybrid. Inspecting him, as if finding a hurt hybrid on the streets was a personal offense to him, which in a sense, it was. He looked at the hybrid, an Asian golden cat, he concluded, looking the way the hybrid’s tail turned from golden to black at the tip. One of his ears had a cut. He kneeled in front of the hybrid, released his calming pheromones, and spoke gently. “Hey, I’m Bang Chan. You are Baby, right? Nice to meet you” He lowered his gaze indirectly to the hybrid’s arms and legs, and saw some cuts that would need disinfecting and gauzes, and maybe some gel also.
The hybrid didn’t answer, just kept his hold tight on Minho’s shirt, and didn’t even move his head to look at the other people in the room. Frozen in place. Chan stood up, taking the hybrid’s attention with him, maybe because of his alpha status and his hybrid type. Maybe Baby didn’t want to lose him from his sight because of fear, Minho thought.
“This is Changbin” Chan said, putting a hand on Changbin’s shoulder. Alpha. “This is Felix” Chan said, referring to the cat hybrid with freckles who smiled widely at Baby. Omega. “This right here is Seungmin” dog hybrid with golden ears, who said an awkward hi with his hand. Beta. “You already now Minho. This is Hyunjin” Hyunjin, the human, nodded at Baby’s direction. “And our youngest, Jeongin” he smiled warmly at Baby, showing his dimples, and said hi with his hand as well. Human. Chan turned to look at Baby. “We are the Stray Kids pack. Now, if you don’t judge us, we won’t judge you” he said, being ready to defend his pack from anyone or anything. Any old-fashioned or retrograde ideals or beliefs about packs, humans, hybrids, and their ways of co-living and fraternizing with each other weren’t welcome in their home, not even from a weak hybrid.
The hybrid looked then at each one of them. It looked like he was biting his tongue, and he was curling his tail around his waist with his ears flat to his head.
“We won’t hurt you” Felix added, sounding more cordial than what Chan had sounded. Smiling and even letting sweet pheromones fill the air. “You are an omega, right? Me, too!” he said “Do you want me to help you clean your… bruises?” he asked.
Truth be told, Baby’s scent smelt weird to Felix, almost like it was synthetic. It smelt too sweet. Odd. But he wasn’t about to judge the scent of a hybrid in need. He was just going to assume that the miserable state of the hybrid was the cause of it.
The hybrid turned to look at Minho, and shook his head. “I can help, too” added Minho, reassuring the hybrid. That seemed to catch his interest, if one could judge because of his ears’ movements. “I will help, too. I can bring all the stuff here” said Hyunjin already making a run for the stuff. “Wait” said Chan, stopping him “Maybe take him to a room. I’m not sure if he would like to tend his wounds here”. All of them nodded at that. Always the wise leader.
“Let’s move him to my room” said Felix, quickly sending a look to Seungmin to ask if it was okay since the room was shared between the two. Minho took Baby, and with the help of Hyunjin, they moved him upstairs to the omega’s room.
Baby was reluctant of holding into Hyunjin, but feeling that Minho wouldn’t be able to help him up the stairs on his own without carrying him, he decided to trust the human.
As the other watched them get up the stairs, Chan looked at Changbin, “Better let the others interact with him for now. I’m not sure where he comes from, but omega hybrids rescued in that state? He will most likely be scared of us” he said. “He shouldn’t be. Humans can treat omega hybrids just as bad as Alphas, treat any hybrid bad for that matter.” Changbin said, talking for the sake of liberating his irritation. “Nice, Changbin” said Jeongin, rolling his eyes and walking into the kitchen as Felix went up the stairs.
Hyunjin and Minho were tending to Baby’s wounds on his arms while Felix worked his legs. It was easier for Minho because the hybrid was still latching to his shirt, but only with one hand as the other was on the other side of his body, being treated by Hyunjin. They were in dead silence.
“So… Baby, can you talk?” asked Hyunjin with no harm intended, but still earning a glare from Felix. “He can, he told me his name” said Minho, not paying attention to them but focusing on putting gazes on that one cut.
“Okay, sorry, Baby” said Hyunjin looking at the hybrid in the eyes, he turned to look at the arm he was in charge of, and deemed it clean enough. “You need a shower, Baby.” He said in a rhetoric way. He moved on top of the bed and placed himself next to Baby. “I’m gonna clean your ear now. Is that okay?” The hybrid just lowered his eyes, which Hyunjin took as consent enough.
“Jisung” the hybrid said, making all three men look at him.
“What?” asked Minho, taken aback.
The hybrid swallowed harshly, and Minho made a quick mental note of bringing him so much water after this.
“My name is Jisung. Not- Not Baby” he said, still looking at his belly. The other three exchanged looks, astonished. “Well, nice to meet you, Jisung!” Felix said serenely “I’m still Felix”.
The other laughed, but not Jisung. Minho stood up from his spot. “I’m gonna bring you some dinner, and water, alright?”. Jisung turned to look at him and nodded once. He swallowed again and tried not to flinch when Minho left the room, not closing the door. “Don’t worry, Jisung. He’ll be back soon” cued Felix, cleaning a rather ugly looking wound on his leg. Hyunjin had just finished cleaning Jisung’s ear, which would need stitches if he didn’t want it to heal with both sides of his ear separated, almost in half. Hyunjin lowered his gaze, seeing Jisung with his eyes closed, but ears moving to every little noise. Hyunjin grabbed another wet tissue, and tended Jisung’s face cut. Jisung’s face crunched, and he opened his eyes to find Hyunjin very close to him, making his tail curl to his own leg and his breathing to become hectic the tiniest bit.
“Don´t worry! He is not going to hurt you. Hyunjin just wants to clean your wound” Felix said, smelling the distress. Jisung calmed rapidly, but his head tilted the slightest. Minho came back with a bowl of food and a one-liter bottle of water. He placed them on Felix’s bedside table. Hyunjin looked confused, starting at Jisung. Minho had smelt it again as well, the smell of distress.
Impossible for them to catch, but Minho and Hyunjin shared a glance that proved to Minho that he wasn’t alone. He was smelling Jisung too.
“Hey, why that face?” asked Minho, sitting next to Jisung. Jisung turned his big eyes to him, looking afraid. “Cut?” asked Jisung. Minho was the one confused now. “Your cut? You wanna see your face cut?” asked Hyunjin. Jisung nodded feverishly. Felix stood up and grabbed his hand mirror from somewhere in the room, giving it to Jisung, who looked at his reflection, and started to cry as a reaction.
He wasn’t shaking or hyperventilating, he was just a statue with straight tears rolling down his cheeks one after the other. “Jisung! What’s wrong?!” asked Felix moving to his side, placing a hand on Jisung’s head gently. Jisung instinctively relaxed to the touch.
“Ugly” he said, putting the mirror softly on the bed “I’m ugly now”.
Minho was taken aback what that. “Why do you say that? Because of the cut?” he asked. Hyunjin shook his head, “Jisung, no. That wound will heal and you will look the same as before, promise”. Felix petted him calmly, “Jisung, you are the most beautiful even with that cut!” he said. Minho wiped Jisung’s tears, who had now a sad look to his face. “Jisung, please. You are safe now. You are beautiful. Please don’t cry” said Minho, but he continued crying for some minutes, the other reduced to petting him as comfort.
“Sorry” said Jisung, at last. Minho noticed for the first time that Jisung’s fangs were filed, eradicated from their pointy edge and reduce to smooth looking ovals.
“Don’t worry about it!” said Felix, handing him the food and water. “Please, eat, while Minho and Hyunjin tend to your wounds on your belly”.
Jisung looked at the food with as much interest as he would watch an ant. Felix grabbed the spoon, took some soup, and directed eat to Jisung’s face. Jisung opened his mouth automatically at that. “Look at you! So good. You look so strong, Jisung, you will be able to continue with your life in no time!” Felix said. He was happy but saying that made him sad. Minho also flinched at that. He really wanted Jisung to stay, but he knew all of them had to agree on that. But even Hyunjin’s smile had vanished after Felix said those words.
After eating, Jisung fell asleep, not surprising anyone. After all they imagined Jisung had been through, being offered a safe space, being cleaned, and fed, surrounded by plushies and the comforting smell of omega on all the items and the bed must have felt like heaven to him. The two humans and hybrid left the room, turning the lights off but not closing the door completely, to let a little of light peek through.
They went downstairs, where three bowls of food were waiting for them as well.
“Where is Jisung? Is he okay?” asked Seungmin concerned. “He is fine. He fell asleep” said Felix, eating right away. Chan’s ears perked “Fell asleep? Really, Felix? You let him fall asleep in your room?” asked Chan, almost reprimanding the cat hybrid, who in return looked at him a little annoyed. “What? I though you liked him?” asked Felix. Chan shook his head as a disappointed leader would, “He is still a stranger” he said.
“Please, Chan. I’m sure he is harmless” said Minho “I found him in the trash “.
“Even then” said Chan, “We can’t just trust anyone we want. Some people’s faces don’t match their hearts”. Hyunjin nodded with an absent-like quality, looking at his soup, “There is this one thing about him… that I find peculiar” he said, finding the word to describe it. Changbin spoke next, expectant “What is it?”. They had seen Jisung up close, maybe there was something he was hiding that he couldn’t keep away from them.
“I think I… I think I can smell him” said Hyunjin, looking at his pack mates, “Like an hybrid would, I think. I can smell his scent”. Chan’s face wrinkled in confusion, “What do you mean, Hyunjin?”. Before Hyunjin could speak, Jeongin did, “Me too, I think I can smell his scent. When he was afraid, I smelt him”.
All the hybrids where shocked to hear that, and all eyes landed on Minho, who nodded twice before saying, “Me too.”. Chan’s neurons were working hard to comprehend how would that even be possible, but it would be too much of a coincidence for all three of the humans in his pack to smell something and think it was Jisung’s smell. Chan turned to look at the hybrids, “Do you think he smells different?”. Seungmin shook his head, confused, and Changbin shrugged, “Not really. Smells like a normal omega to me. Maybe a little sweeter? But nothing I would call “odd””.
Felix swallowed with all eyes on him, he was nervous, and he new Chan had noticed already. He had noticed how his ears had faltered just the tiniest bit. There was no point in lying.
“I…” he sighed, “I think he smells different. Different than other omegas. But I don’t know. He’s been through a lot. Maybe we are giving it too much importance” Felix hoped he could end the conversation with that. “Felix, you know it’s biologically impossible for humans to smell hybrids. Doesn’t that worry you?” asked Chan, walking closer to Felix.
Felix’s ears fell flat to his head, looking at Chan, “I really want him to stay. I don’t care about biology”. Chan held Felix’s gaze for a few seconds, then sighed. “I really want to keep him, too” Minho added, “I think he could be one of us”, “A stray? Are you serious?” asked Hyunjin skeptically. Minho nodded at him, feeling surprised his pack wasn’t as willing as he thought they’d be to adopt a new member. “Guys? Come on. He needs us” Minho pleaded.
“We don’t know anything about him” said Hyunjin, “We can get to know him! Please” said Felix, looking like he was going to cry if he was denied of his wish. Chan growled once, making everyone, including the humans, tense up. “Shut up, guys. Please.” He said, making his presence in the room strong and overwhelming. “We can let him stay the night if the majority agrees on that but adding someone to the pack is another story entirely. So, please, no more talk about adding another stray. Now, who wants to let Jisung stay the night?”
Minho and Felix raised their hands eagerly, and also Changbin did, and Seungmin did too a little hestitantly, and Jeongin. Five to two. Jisung was staying. Felix clapped and stopped himself remembering who was upstairs sleeping. His tail was moving side to side, though.
“I can stay in the game room, and Seungmin can stay in the living room” Felix said, drinking the last from his soup. “Nonsense” said Chan, “We are all sleeping in my room tonight”.
No one denied that demand. They all knew why Chan did it, tough. Delinquency was high in that day and age. Bad humans. Bad hybrids.
The world was full of predators and preys. And sometimes, the predators looked like preys.
Which was what scared Chan the most.
Jisung woke up feeling very refreshed. He seated on the bed, his bed, he concluded with a shrug, and stretched his limbs emitting a low purr. He rubbed his eyes before leaving the bed, taking in account his horrible garments once he had both feet on the ground. He opened one door, and found himself with a bathroom, almost gasping at the state of his hair. So untidy. So uncared for.
He decided to take a shower. He remembered everything from yesterday. He had been so lame. What kind of Asian golden cat was he? Looking so small and afraid. Feeling so small and afraid. So vulnerable.
He felt disgusted with himself.
After the shower, he opened the closet and grabbed whatever clothes seem the most comfortable. A pair of shorts and a big t-shirt. That would let his wounds breathe. He brushed his hair, his ears, his tail. He lamented the cut below his eye and made a little prayer for it to heal as soon as possible.
Which he knew it would.
The smell of something delicious caught his attention, and he sprinted downstairs, catching someone making hotcakes in the kitchen. Minho.
“Minho!” screamed Jisung, running into Minho to latch to his back, almost scaring the boy to death before his mind connected what was happening, “Jisung? Oh my God, Jisung! Are you alright?” he said, spinning once to try and look at Jisung, who was latched onto his back. Jisung let go of him to stand up in from of Minho and smiled with a nod. “I’m feeling so much better! Look! I look almost as pretty as before now” he said, pointing at his whole body.
Minho was surprised, to say the least, by the sudden change in Jisung’s energy. He seemed overly excited now. “I can’t believe it, Jisung. You look so well!” Minho noticed Jisung’s shiny hair, “Did you shower?” he asked, tilting his head. “Yes, I did. I need someone to change my gauzes, though. They are wet now”. Minho was a little perplexed, but nodded anyway, “Yeah. Sure. Do you want to change them now or later?”, Jisung shrugged at that, “Whenever you can”.
Jisung sat on a chair on the kitchen island, and looked around, “Where is everybody?” he asked.
“Well, Chan, Changbin, Hyunjin, and Felix went to work” said Minho, “Jeongin and Seungmin are still sleeping since its summer”. Jisung nodded, “Do you work?” he asked, Minho nodded. “I do. I took the day off to look after you” he putted three pancakes in a pile on a plate, and handed it to Jisung, “But you seem way better than I thought you would be”, Jisung smiled at that, thanking the pancakes, “I do feel better. Thank you for taking such good care of me”.
Minho smiled and took his eyes from Jisung before he fell into the omega’s charms. The omega he could totally smell. They heard footsteps going down the stairs, and moments later Jeongin and Seungmin walked into the kitchen, both losing any strand of sleep that remained when they saw Jisung.
“Jisung? Are you feeling better?” asked Jeongin walking to him, followed by Seungmin. “Yes! All thanks to you. Thanks for adopting me” said Jisung, hugging Jeongin quickly, making the other three boys uncomfortable by mentioning he was adopted. Jisung paid them no mind.
“Right” said Seungmin, “Are those Felix’s clothes?” he asked, pointing at Jisung’s outfit. Jisung panicked, standing from the chair, “They are. I grabbed them without permission. Do you think Felix will be mad?! I’ll take them off immediately!”, Jisung grabbed the hem of the shirt with both hands before being stopped by Seungmin’s hands. “Don’t! Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll understand”, Jisung nodded, seeming more relaxed, “Okay. Alright. I’ll keep them on”.
Minho handed two other plates to Seungmin and Jeongin. “Kids, eat. I’ll go grocery shopping because apparently, we have nothing left” he said, opening the fridge to reveal not much. “Anyone need anything?”. Jeongin asked for more deodorant and Seungmin for his favorite snacks, Jisung waited until Minho’s eyes landed on him to speak. “Um, I would like some hair tint, please? Brown hair tint, if possible…” he said shyly, ears flat to his head. Minho nodded reassuringly. “Of course, I can get you that. Anything else? Do you want some clothes?”
Jisung shook his head. Was Minho suggesting to buy clothes from a supermarket? Never would Jisung wear anything coming from the supermarket. “No, no, don’t worry. I don’t want you to spend more money on me. I can keep grabbing Felix’s clothes”, Jeongin chuckled at that “I don’t think Felix would like that too much”.
Jisung faltered. “It’s no problem, Jisung. We have money to spend on your basic necessities and more”. That sentence took all of Jisung’s attention. “Really?” he asked with a big smile to which Minho nodded with a little smile. Jisung hunched dramatically, “But you don’t know my size. I would rather go with you. But I don’t want to go out. Not yet…”
That part was true. For all he knew, they could still be looking for him. But he would find them first.
“Okay, well, grab some of my clothes on the meantime, okay?” asked Minho, “But Felix smell’s so good” Jisung whined. Minho frowned amused, “Ask him when he gets here, okay?” he asked, and Jisung nodded with a smile.
Minho left, and Jisung was left alone with Jeongin and Seungmin.
“Jisung, I really like your smell” Jeongin commented, “You are the first hybrid I can smell”.
Jisung thanked him and gave him his best big and kind smile, putting his ears flat to his head and everything, but rolled his eyes when he turned his head.
He just needed to endure a little bit. Get his strength back. Earn their trust, and then steal whatever he deemed worthy of some thousand dollars. They seemed to have money. He could get the good parts of his life back easily.
Chan would be trouble. Jisung remembered him good enough.
But Jisung considered himself a good actor. He would find his way into their hearts. He had a feeling he already had, if the way they had cued at him when they first saw him was any clue. And if he didn’t, he had Felix, and he was sure that omega had them. He would play his cards correctly, and then, finally, he would be free.
Free at last.